The Plight of the PSP 2

There has been a lot of rumors circulating recently about a new PSP with phone capabilities. This got me thinking, is it time for Sony to release a new PSP yet?

Sony is currently in a difficult place when it comes to the successor for the PSP. Though the PSP has been successful for a first attempt at a handheld console, it came nowhere near the dominance of Nintendo's DS. But how could we expect it to. Nintendo has been more fruitful in the handheld market than anyone has in the home console market. Their dominance has been absolute. However it does feel like it is time for Sony to release a significant update to the PSP.
(iPhone, Playstation Move, PS3, PSP, Sony)

Why not? I want the psp2 to have phone capabilities but I just hope it's not a psp1.5 I want a significat upgrade to the quality of games and features. I must say out of all the mock-ups I've seen of the psp2 that one is the worst.

I think that I'm the only person who absolutely hates the idea of a PSphone. I want my PSP to be a PSP. Just give me some serious upgrades to the existing PSP and I'm happy. I honestly don't think a PSphone is coming for a couple reasons.

Price: For the processing power needed to run worthy PSP quality games we'll be looking at a $300 phone. Any phone with a quality screen and slider mechanics usually cost about $200 to $250.

Size: With the aforementioned specs. we'll be looking at a very bulky phone. Imagine a phone with a 4.3" screen, slide out keyboard and slide out gaming controls.

Marketing: Who will it be marketed to? Smartphone customers are usually more business oriented and simply play games to kill time. A PSphone will have to labeled as a smartphone taking away from the more kid friendly vibe associated with portable gaming.

Partnerships: Sony is a member of the OHA (open handset alliance) and they have quite a few deals going on with google. With Android making such big strides in the mobile marketplace, Sony's PSphone would most likely run android OS. That sounds good but with so many games on the android market most people would settle for a cheaper, shorter game.

Battery Life: With the power it takes to run a smartphone, trying to layer PSP games on top of the phone OS and the power being used for the antenna and any other programs running in the background. Consider your phone dead in 2 hours.

With all that being said, if Sony can make it work somehow, I'm all in but those are alot of issues to overcome.

2 analog sticks FULL PSN FUNCTIONALITIES ( ability to talk , send/ receive message from our psn friends no matter if they are using a ps3 or psp2 ) ability to play online with our psn friends trophies as portable as the pspGO better graphics faster loading times better web browser more apps first party launch software line up : Uncharted Little Big Planet 2 ( this time with the ability to play online with our friends ) Warhawk White Knight Chronicles inFAMOUS Motorstorm : worldwide festival and im good to go

that feature is 1 of the more requested features from the psp community , its not only me but lots of psp owners , sony knows that we want it ( as it is 1 of the 2 most requested features in the playstation blog share page ) , i hope they can make it happen , that feature alone will make me buy a psp2 even though i have a psp GO already

Features:
2nd analogue stick more like the ps3's analogue sticks but not too big that its awkward in your pocket.
3d because I want 3d games but can't afford a 3dtv
PSN fuctionality
rumble
tilt function kinda like locoroco without having to press a button
HD graphics if they can pull off the first HD handheld that would be amazing
Trophy support
easier connectivity to your TV and Dualshock
I hope they keep the design of the psp go but a little wider for a bigger screen.

While I think next year would be a great time to reveal the PSP2, they need to drop the price of the existing PSP by another $30 at least. After five years on the market it seems like it is far too expensive to pay for one. From an everday consumer point of view, parents especially, weighing the options of the two for your kids the DS is a no brainer because it's $40 cheaper. They need to get the PSP down to a more competitive price to drive adoption a little better at this point of the PSP's life.

I hope Sony (if they do) will not delve to much into phone capabilities, I want a PSP 2 to play games, music, movies, and to search the web as its main features. Integrate 3G or even 4G and that would be cool as long as it is open to whatever carrier you want. Other than that I want it to just play games.